After US President Donald Trump’s claim that India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday clarified that the government has earlier also stated that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indian citizens is the priority of the Indian government.
During a press briefing, the MEA Spokesperson said that India has a long-standing partner with Venezuela in the area of energy.
Jaiswal said, “The government has stated publicly on several occasions that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the supreme priority of our government. Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India’s decisions were taken and will be taken with this in mind.”
He added, “As far as Venezuela is concerned, it has been a long-standing partner for us in the area of energy, both on the trade side and also on the investment side. We were importing energy and crude oil from Venezuela until 2019-20, after which we had to stop. Again, we began buying oil from Venezuela in 2023-24 but had to stop after sanctions were reimposed… Consistent with our approach to energy security, India remains open to exploring the commercial merits of any crude supply, including from Venezuela.”
Meanwhile, Russia also weighed in on the developments. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova said there was no reason to believe India would reconsider its energy cooperation with Russia.
“No reason to believe India has reconsidered its approach to energy cooperation with Russia,” Zakharova said, adding, “The trade in resources is beneficial for both sides and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market.”
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said, “We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always purchased these products from other countries. Therefore, we see nothing new here.”
India-US trade deal
Trump made the remarks regarding New Delhi’s oil trade with Moscow following the announcement of the India-US trade deal, claiming that India would stop buying oil and shift toward increased purchases from the US and Venezuela.
“We spoke about many this including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more fr the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social post earlier this week.
The trade deal was later confirmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though no statement was made regarding stopping Russian oil imports.
The bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States was announced on Monday, with tariffs on Indian goods reduced from 50 per cent to 18 per cent. In a press conference on Tuesday, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the final agreement is in its last stages, a view echoed by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who stated the deal is “still being papered.”
